This first HD photo shows a marble statue depicting Phryne located on the former Palais du Louvre, and although her exact dates of birth and death are not known, she was born in the fourth century BC and was an ancient Greek courtesan.

Now this was not the name she was born with, but it became her nickname, which translates in English to toad, referring to her almost yellowish skin colour, yet Phryne also became a nickname used for other courtesans and prostitutes.

And according to some sources, the first ever ancient Greek statue of a naked woman was by the sculptor Praxiteles who apparently used Phryne as his model, as they were also lovers.

However, this particular marble statue of Phryne certainly does not date that far back, as it was produced by Louis Elias Robert who was born in Etampes in 1821 and studied under David d'Angers and Pradier to become a French sculptor.

You will find that Louis Elias Robert received numerous public commissions for statues, sculptures and caryatids for tourist attractions in Paris, which includes no less than seven for the Louvre Museum, along with others for the Palais Garnier Opera House, Gare d'Austerlitz train station, Fontaine St Michel, Theatre Chatelet, etc.

And although Louis Elias Robert passed away in Paris in 1874, many of his works are now found within a museum in his home town of Etampes, however, there are many others to be discovered within the capital city of France.

Yet here you can see the location of Phryne positioned within a niche on the first level of the Aile Nord, which is the ninth statue from the left hand side as you are looking at the facade from the courtyard of the Louvre called the Cour Carree.

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